I’m Interested In Becoming a Locksmith What Should I Do?

If you see locksmithing as a future career, the first thing we recommend is doing your homework. Becoming a locksmith requires a lot of research. Read on below for some questions to ask yourself and as well as further reading on the topic of locksmith training and qualifications.

To become a locksmith requires taking a training course, the most popular choice is by attending our 5-day beginner’s course which includes 4 modules split over 5 days where you learn about key cutting, picking locks to fitting locks.

Other avenues include on the job training with companies who may be willing to take on a trainee.

How long does it take to learn to be a locksmith?

It can take up to around 3-4 years to become a fully competent locksmith. Some attendees set-up their own business after taking our beginner’s locksmith courses, gaining experience starting with small jobs and working their way up to larger projects.

The amount of time taken to become a locksmith may be reduced if you were previously a carpenter, joiner or someone with good dexterity/mechanical/electronic skills.

Those who don’t set up their own business go down the employed route or take on a role as a trainee locksmith.

Important questions to ask yourself

1. Where will you be working?

Will you cover a certain radius of the area you in? or just concentrate on one specific area

2. Whats the market like?

Is the area a cash-rich area, is your area a high crime area?

3. How many locksmiths are there in the area you’ll be working?

Some areas are overpopulated with locksmiths and you may struggle to make it.

What area of Locksmithing should I Offer?

If you think the area can support the services of a locksmith then you need to think about:

What services will you be offering?

More importantly what services are required by the customers?

Will you be doing domestic work or commercial

Auto? Safes? Access Control? Electrical security etc.

Will you be a 24 Emergency Mobile Locksmith?

There are so many facets to locksmithing and areas of specialisation that you can get into once the basics have been covered that you need to formulate a business plan and be realistic with your costs!

A lot of the above will depend on what area of locksmith services you will offer.

For example, safe engineers will need to invest in scopes ( examining internal of safes ), auto locksmiths will require heavy investment in electronic programming equipment to deal with modern vehicles.

Taking a training course to become a locksmith

Speak to as many people as you can and try to get referrals from people who have undertaken courses previously to see what they think.

Talk to the training provider (and visit their premises if possible)

Find out the training providers background and the amount of experience they have.

Are they trading locksmiths themselves enabling them to provide feedback “from the coal face”? It’s scary to note that some people set up as training companies after only recently having taken a short course themselves!

BONUS TIP: It’s also worth talking to suppliers as they often run training courses, some of which may be FOC.

Warning about training courses!

One word of warning relating to training courses – beware of courses that try to sell you tools. The tools you’ll need will very much depend on the type of work you’ll be doing and also the area of the country you’re based in. Locksmiths have cupboards full of shiny tools that have cost a small fortune and yet never been used.

Choose wisely once you know what you need, and some tools you may actually be able to make yourself.

In other words – make sure you go in with your eyes wide open, it’s not as easy a profession as some training schools may have you believe!